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The reason why continents mostly stand above sea level is believed to be that continental crust is lower in iron and more oxidized than oceanic crust. This makes continents more buoyant over the Earth’s mantle. The difference in composition is poorly understood, but a popular hypothesis suggested that garnet formation was key to this. Now, […]

Infection with certain bacteria from the Desulfovibrio genus triggers the formation of protein aggregates in nematode worms, a new study reveals. The findings bolster previous research showing Desulfovibrio abundance correlates with the severity of Parkinson’s symptoms. Not all Parkinson’s cases can be blamed on the bacteria, but the authors think the majority of people affected […]

Listening to a particular sound while we sleep could help to stem nightmares, research has suggested. It doesn’t have to be a special sort of sound, it can be literally anything – we just have to associate it with a positive daytime experience, and bingo, we may find ourselves sleeping more sweetly as a result. […]

When it comes to murdering things, assassin bugs don’t mess around. Famous for wearing the corpses of their victims as accessories, they’ve now been given an extra murderous accolade as research has found evidence for tool use in their hunting strategy. The research centered around an Australian group of assassin bugs, Gorareduvius sp., that are […]

The relationships between plants and their pollinators, typically insects, is well documented, especially given the effect of disease, climate change, and pesticides on the welfare of the creatures involved. However, researchers in Brazil have now discovered a new relationship between a plant and a very surprising creature. The Izecksohn’s Brazilian treefrog (Xenohyla truncata) has been […]

A chance rearrangement of the human genome over a million years ago probably kick-started the evolution of modern humans from our primate ancestors. A recent study explains why human DNA contains sections, many of which are involved in brain development, that are unique to us and are not shared with even our closest relatives, chimpanzees. […]

If you’re unhappy with the size of your nose then you now have someone to blame, as new research has revealed that certain genes responsible for increasing schnoz length can be traced back to our extinct Neanderthal cousins. According to the study authors, the ancient hominids may have evolved large noses to help them cope […]

This article first appeared in Issue 7 of our free digital magazine CURIOUS.  In science, we often stumble upon profound questions about what is real and what is perceived. Quantum mechanics and the uncertainty principle is a fan favorite, for example. A more subtle question we might encounter is about naturally occurring patterns. From snowflakes […]

There has been a tenfold increase in sexual abuse imagery created with webcams and other recording devices worldwide since 2019, according to the Internet Watch Foundation. Social media sites and chatrooms are the most common methods used to facilitate contact with kids, and abuse occurs both online and offline. Increasingly, predators are using advances in […]

A new COVID variant XBB.1.16, or “Arcturus”, has now been identified in at least 34 countries including the UK. Arcturus is a subvariant of omicron and was first detected in India in January 2023. Advertisement As of April 17, the latest date up to which the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has reported data on […]

At one point in time, Homo sapiens – that is, the group of great apes that includes you and me, but not, say, a chimpanzee or an orangutan – was just one of many species in the genus. As recently as a couple hundred thousand years ago, a world tour of humanity would reveal not […]

The way a person speaks is an intrinsic part of their identity. It’s tribal, marking a speaker as being from one social group or another. Accents are a sign of belonging as much as something that separates communities. Yet we can probably all think of examples of people who seem to have “lost” their regional […]

It seems that Hubble not only tracks light near and far, but it can also track shadows. Planets forming in the system of the star TW Hydrae are shifting the material in the protoplanetary disk where they are formed. These rings are becoming misaligned with the much larger outer disk – and as the planets […]

This week, a new Alzheimer’s drug has managed to halt progression in almost half of trial patients, a surgery was successfully carried out on the brain of a 34-week-old fetus still inside the womb, and we learn about the risks of charging your phone overnight. Subscribe to the IFLScience newsletter for all the biggest science […]

Microplastics are everywhere, causing disruption to hormones, crossing the blood-brain barrier in mice, and even being found inside the stomachs of the largest creatures on Earth. There’s estimated to be 171 trillion bits of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans. Even in remote locations microplastics persist in these extreme environments, and new research has learnt […]

Russian soldiers setting up offensive positions in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone have fallen ill from radiation sickness, according to multiple media outlets.  After entering the heavily irradiated areas of the EZ early in the invasion, it was suspected that truckloads of soldiers leaving the area developed sickness, and it appears diplomats have since confirmed it […]

A new study that used machine learning algorithms on medical data from intensive care patients has found evidence that the main driver in COVID-19 deaths is not cytokine storms, as previously thought. The team from Northwestern University looked at the medical records of 585 patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Northwestern Memorial Hospital […]

There are still many medical unknowns in the world, and one curious example is a little-understood condition that has baffled doctors and researchers for decades. Known as “Nodding syndrome”, it has affected people – almost exclusively children – in parts of East Africa since it was first identified in the 1960s, but no one yet […]

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared today that, after over three years, COVID-19 is no longer a health emergency. This doesn’t mean that COVID-19 has magically vanished, but the WHO has considered reducing the level of alarm connected to the disease.  Thanks to immunization via vaccines and infections, the pandemic has been on a […]